Francis Eppes Professor, Florida State University
Nobel Laureate, Chemistry
Harold Kroto is the Francis Eppes Professor of Chemistry at Florida State University in Tallahassee and a professor emeritus at the University of Sussex in Brighton, England. He is a graduate of the University of Sheffield.
Kroto's fascination with spectroscopy, which allows for the identification and study of different types of molecules based on how they absorb or emit light or other kinds of electromagnetic radiation, led him to quantum chemistry, his main area of research. Using microwaves as opposed to visible light, he discovered long, chainlike carbon molecules in the atmospheres of stars and their associated gas clouds; attempts to re-create such carbon chains in the laboratory led to the discovery of a previously unknown form of carbon known as buckminsterfullerene; given their resemblance to soccer balls, these molecules are commonly called buckyballs.
The discovery of buckyballs opened up an entirely new branch of chemistry and earned Kroto the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Tubular assemblies of carbon atoms, which are a close kin to the buckyballs, play a central role in Kroto's current main area of research: nanoscience.
Kroto is a staunch supporter of science education and in 1995 set up the Vega Science Trust, which creates high-quality science films for network broadcast.
